Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/614946
maltatoday, SUNDAY, 13 DECEMBER 2015 36 This Week 36 This Week IN CINEMAS TODAY St James Cavalier Valletta Tel. 21 223200 LUX Film: Mustang 18:30 LUX Film: Mediterranea 21:00 Embassy Cinemas Valletta Tel. 21 227436, 21 245818 By the Sea (15) 10:15, 13:15, 16:00, 18:35, 21:15 The Good Dinosaur (U) 10:20, 13:45, 16:10, 18:30, 20:50 Spectre (12) 10:30, 14:30, 18:00, 21:00 Bridge of Spies (12) 10:35, 14:15, 17:50, 20:50 Hunger Games Mockingjay Pt 2 (12) 10:30, 14:30, 18:00, 21:00 Black Mass (18) 16:00, 18:35, 21:10 Eden Cinemas St Julian's Tel. 23 710400 Spectre (12) 14:15, 17:50, 21:05, 23:35 By the Sea (15) 14:30, 18:00, 20:55 Crimson Peak (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15 Manglehorn (12) 16:20, 21:10 Hotel Transylvania 2 (U) 14:05, 16:15, 18:25 Victor Frankenstein (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:45, 21:10, 23:35 Crimson Peak (15) 14:00, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15 Strange Magic (U) 14:10, 16:30, 18:40, 20:50 Hunger Games Mockingjay Pt 2 (12) 14:20, 18:00, 21:55, 23:00 The Good Dinosaur (U) 14:05, 16:25, 18:50, 21:15 Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse (15) 20:55 Bridge of Spies (12) 14:30, 18:00, 20:50, 23:40 Burnt (15) 14:05, 16:20, 18:35, 20:45 Mia Madre (15) 14:00, 18:40 The Last Witch Hunter (12) 14:10, 16:30, 18:50, 21:05 Black Mass (18) 14:30, 18:20, 21:00, 23:00 Cavalleria Rusticana/Pagliacci (PG) 15:00 Empire Cinemas Bugibba Tel. 21 581787, 21 581909 Spectre (12) 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 Victor Frankenstein (15) 13:25, 16:00, 18:30, 21:15 By the Sea (15) 13:15, 18:00, 21:00 The Good Dinosaur (PG) 13:20, 15:45, 18:10, 20:30 (3D) Strange Magic (U) 13:30, 16:00, 18:30 Bridge of Spies (12) 13:50, 18:00, 21:05 Hunger Games Mockingjay Pt 2 (12) 14:00, 18:00, 21:00 Black Mass (18) 21:00 THE legacy of Goodfellas (1990) is long and illustrious. Martin Scorsese's true-story account of how an informant brought down a criminal empire stands as a ground-breaking example of the crime genre. Inspiring the likes of Quentin Tarantino and count- less other imitations of varying quality, the fast-paced, ironic vibe of the film did plenty of work to demystify the American criminal underworld, while its rock-and- roll spirit lent it a dynamism that's difficult not to like. In short, it's a formula that can hardly fail – at least on paper. Appealing to both the shallow impulses of the mafia genre – vi- olence and power-pornography – as well as mining deep to un- ravel both the rich psychologi- cal and political (with a small 'p') underpinnings of the thing, Scorsese accomplished nothing short of powerhouse storytell- ing. Of course, Hollywood would never let a formula that good slip through its fingers before it's pulped to death like many an unfortunate character falling foul of its rabid mafiosi. And so now we have Black Mass. Similarly based on a true account about the downfall of a criminal empire "from the inside", and similarly filmed in a way that ratchets up the sus- pense and menace of its unsa- voury characters, Scott Cooper's film could be better… but it's also not among the worst Good- fellas knock-offs out there. While his brother Bill (Ben- edict Cumberbatch) remains a powerful leader in the Massa- chusetts Senate, Irish hoodlum James 'Whitey' Bulger (Johnny Depp) continues to pursue a life of crime in 1970s Boston. Ap- proached by FBI agent John Con- nolly (Joel Edgerton), the law- man convinces Whitey to help the agency fight the Italian mob. As their unholy alliance spirals out of control, Bulger increases his power and evades capture to become one of the most danger- ous gangsters in U.S. history. I launched with a preamble about Goodfellas, but the fact is that the (re)appearance of Johny Depp on the big screen is what flared up most of the market- ing hype ahead of Black Mass's release. It's not that everyone's – formerly, perhaps – favourite sex bomb-cum-eccentric has been away from our cinemas for all that long… just that his once-untouchable role as the cult weirdo du jour appears to be fading. And much like his frequent col- laborator Tim Burton – in point of fact, the director responsible for ossifying Depp's on-screen image in 'quirky' 2D – attempt- ed to claw out of his swirly, kid-Gothic pigeonhole with the relatively sober biopic Big Eyes (2014), so Depp now ditches the weird hats and weirder accents in favour of a flesh-and-blood personage. But Whitey Bulger is not your garden variety character – hell, he was never even a garden va- riety criminal to begin with. Though much is made of how certain mobsters can be some- what likeable – or at least com- pelling enough to convince – Bulger cleaves far too close to out-and-out villain territory to ever register as anything other than a menace. So in essence, the casting of Depp is hardly a ground-break- ing, career-redefining step. With his ice-blue eyes, scraggly teeth and pale, abundantly-freckled skin, Bulger is nearly as much a grotesque as Jack Sparrow or Ed- ward Scissorhands. Not that this is a bad thing, necessarily – the last thing the world needs is yet another 'sympathetic' mobster appealing to our base tendency to valorize scumbags – and cos- tuming and makeup aside, Depp does his job capably enough. Less impressive is Joel Edger- ton's John. Presumably our pro- tagonist throughout the course of the film, his dogged loyalty to Bulger is never quite fleshed out in a satisfactory manner. Granted, one doesn't expect pat answers from real-life, psycho- logically complex characters, but what happens is that we're left with something of an enigma from our protagonist, and not a very compelling one at that. In adapting Dick Lehr and Ger- ard O'Neill's account of Bulger's rise and fall, the least screen- writers Mark Mallouk and Jez Butterworth could have done was suggest at motives more specific than simple community loyalty. If anything, perhaps a different viewpoint character would have made things a little bit fresher. God knows there's plenty of can- didates to choose from: like Dav- id Fincher's comprehensive and exacting Zodiac (2007) – which also has a gradually unspooling investigative structure – Black Mass is an embarrassment of riches in terms of the sheer size of its supporting cast, with some quasi-A-listers even turning up for simple cameos (Juno Temple is a case in point). But however flawed, this re- mains a solid enough crime dra- ma. It's not quite Goodfellas of course but then again, what is? By Teodor Reljic Unwise loyalties ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ GOODFELLAS ★ ★ ★ ★ GOOD CHOICE ★ ★ ★ GOOD ENOUGH ★ ★ GOOD RIDDANCE ★ BAD BUSINESS FILM No time for prayer: Johnny Depp takes a menacing, though not exactly career-revitalising, turn as Irish-American gangster James 'Whitey' Bulger in this suspenseful and thorough true story BLACK MASS (18) ★ ★ ★